Wika gets contract for Aceh projects

Wika gets contract for Aceh projects

JAKARTA: The U.S. awarded an Indonesian company US$13.5 million on Thursday to start reconstruction of the road from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh in the tsunami-devastated province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

The company, PT Wijaya Karya (Wika), will start on the $245 million project to rebuild the road, which was the economic lifeline for the province, by building the section from Meulaboh, the city closest to the epicenter of last year's devastating quake-triggered tsunami, to the coastal town of Lamno, some 55 kilometers to the south.

A second contract will be awarded for the overall design and construction supervision of the road, followed by a third contract for the resurfacing, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the road from Lamno to Meulaboh, a U.S. embassy statement said.

"In order to build this road, we must construct 110 bridges," said Charge d'Affaires Lewis Amselem.

The road project is the largest project under the $400 million pledged by the U.S. to support rebuilding efforts in Aceh and North Sumatra. -- DPA